Edited by Angela Aliff Archives

Brogan King, Guest Blog, Receiving Feedback

Buying In

November 14, 2017November 8, 2017 | aaliff

In a perfect world, feedback would would be freely given and freely received. Reviewers would be open and honest about what they had to say, and those being reviewed would open their minds to what others were saying, even if it wasn't necessarily what they want to hear. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world, and it's a lot harder to provide feedback in a way that makes someone want to listen than it is to just write a review. As a reviewer, you need to figure out how to get your reader

Identity Triggers: Who Tells Your Story?

October 17, 2017October 17, 2017 | aaliff

Several factors can cause us to reject instantaneously the feedback we receive. Sometimes the feedback strikes us as off-base, incorrect, or uniformed, causing a truth trigger. Other times we think their opinions or preconceptions of us are unfairly coloring their observations, causing a relationship trigger. And then there are times where what you are told violates a core belief you have about yourself. We call our reaction to this an identity trigger. What the other person is saying feels fundamentally

What’s Your 100?

October 10, 2017October 7, 2017 | aaliff

This week, The Feedback Loop continues its celebration of 100 posts with your thoughts on feedback. Many thanks to the dozens of judges from around the world who contributed! If you missed the deadline, it's not too late to join us. Share up to 100 words about feedback in the comments below!

Celebrating 100 Posts!

October 3, 2017October 11, 2017 | aaliff

Welcome to The Feedback Loop's 100th post! In celebration of this milestone, we as the blog staff have each written 100 words about feedback and a brief introduction to our involvement in the judge program. Join us next week for a continuation of the celebration with contributions from you, our readers!

Breakfast of Champions

September 19, 2017September 17, 2017 | aaliff

Earlier this year I was the Head Judge of the SCG Modern Classic in Richmond, Virginia. During round one, I was out walking the floor and decided that I would take a call near me. As I delivered my ruling, I thought to myself: “I’m in this shirt for a reason. I know this ruling; I know that I’m correct.” Spoilers: I was wrong. After walking away from the call, I was approached by one of my floor judges, . He asked me about the ruling and whether I was correct. I was still pretty

On Shields and Feedback

August 29, 2017August 11, 2017 | aaliff

Some time ago on this very blog I wrote about what it felt like to be recruited by Captain America himself to be a part of The Avengers. A little over two years after being recruited, asked if I’d like to pick up the shield. (Riki insists that he’s Nick Fury, but this is my article so we’re using my analogy.) I quickly accepted the shield and got to work on polishing it. So what shield am I talking about? The Feedback Loop? Sure, that’s part of it. But it’s more than that. What

Journey’s End

June 27, 2017June 26, 2017 | aaliff

As I type this, I’m reminded of the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode with the same title. No, it wasn’t the series finale. That one was titled All Good Things… which is a good one, both as a title and an episode. Just never try to explain Anti-Time to anyone. Ever. Sadly, Journey’s End was that last Wesley Crusher episode where he discovers that he has a bunch of super powers and goes off with another super-powered being to explore those powers. *record scratch Wait. Was

Erik Aliff, Evaluation, Failure

Investigating My Failed Panel

June 20, 2017September 23, 2017 | aaliff

At the end of Saturday at SCG Baltimore, I reviewed my notebook in amazement at the number of complex calls I had taken. Calls that made me wonder about the motivations of players who shuffled an opponent’s library when counting how many cards remained in the library. Played an through their own on 1. Used a to find a . Twice. The event felt like a series of one investigation after another. Where did they all come from? In GP Richmond a few weeks earlier, calls seemed much simpler. Were

Feedbag, Joe Wiesenberg

Feedbag #14: There’s an Apps for That

May 23, 2017May 21, 2017 | aaliff

We've recently switched over to hosting reviews on JudgeApps. What are your thoughts on this? How is this good or bad for the Judge Program?

Feedback for New L2s

May 2, 2017April 30, 2017 | aaliff

As a teacher, I spend about 35% of my class time reviewing rather than teaching new content. Does that seem surprising to you? It shouldn’t. Consistent review helps us solidify understanding and connect what we’ve learned in the past with new information. As a result, feedback should regularly include the fundamentals of judging, which are important for judges of any level. After an introduction to scaling feedback and a framework for how to help L1s at various stages, let’s take a look